Diamond Stars on Parade: Third annual Mitsubishi Owner's Day brings out the Evos, Eclipses, and Galants

The Saturday-morning car show is an age-old enthusiast tradition, with Mitsubishi's annual Owner's Day yet another in a long line of notable automaker love-ins. The third-annual event, held recently at its Cypress, CA headquarters, was created as a thank you of sorts to its often fanatical enthusiast following.When the first event was being planned in 2005, organizers figured they'd call it a success if a few dozen people showed up. Much to their pleasant surprise, nearly 400 cars had arrived by 7 a.m., with total attendance topping 1000 people. This year, more than 1800 came to check out the rubber-and-metal scenery and meet with their fellow Mitsubishi fans. Not all were Southern California locals either, with attendees driving in from places as far as Wisconsin and Missouri.Providing the backdrop for the show was Mitsubishi's own collection of classics, race cars, and concepts, including a 1962 Mitsubishi 500, the 1974 Safari Rally-winning Lancer 1600 GSR rally car, the 1986 Dakar Rally-winning Montero, a 2005 WRC Evolution, 2006 Baja 1000-winning Raider, and the Prototype X.By 11 a.m., the place looked like the answer to the question "What would a parking lot full of Lancer Evolutions look like?" The rally-bred sports car, which has arguably kept Mitsubishi above water during the automaker's last few trying years in the U.S., has a large and rabid following that came out in force. There were also plenty of Eclipses and their Diamond Star Motors Plymouth Laser and Eagle Talon twins.Conspicuously absent was the "giant wing and cheap body kit" crowd often seen at import gatherings. Many attendees arrived in stock - or at least stock-looking - rides. There were still plenty of over-the-top cars, mostly second-generation Eclipses, and a couple 3000GTs fitted with Lamborghini-style scissor doors. The most peculiar sight of the day, however, wasn't a car. It was the kid of about 14 years old in full Ferrari attire - hat, polo shirt, driving shoes, and a Ferrari flag wrapped around his neck like a cape. Bizarre.The event also served as a perfect opportunity for aftermarketers to get exposure for their products. Some 28 vendors came out to hawk their wares, many with demo cars in tow. As a token of goodwill and appreciation, the vendors also donated numerous prizes for the end-of-the-day raffle.Other highlights included an appearance by a couple of players and cheerleaders from the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League and an RC drift car demonstration by HPR racing.Dyno CompetitionMitsubishi brought out a dyno, with staffers picking out nine contestants from various vendors and websites. Most of the competitors were Evos, though a 349 horsepower 1987 Starion and a lightly-modified 402 horsepower 1994 3000GT VR4 put up solid efforts. From the factory, Starions never had more than 197 horsepower, while 3000GT VR4s had 320 horsepower. Jerry Whitman's 566 horsepower Evolution VIII was crowned the horsepower king, with second place going to another Evo that put out 560 horsepower.Best in ShowThe best in show award, with Mitsubishi's design staff serving as judges, went to a somewhat unlikely contender. Although an Evolution seemed an odds-on favorite to win due to the sheer numbers on site, the award, by nearly unanimous vote, went to a 2000 Galant with a particularly well-fitted wide body kit owned by Richard Espinoza of Whittier, CA.Espinoza and Whitman both received trophies designed by Mitsubishi designers that were made from a piece of an Evolution wheel.Considering how excited the Mitsubishi staff was about the event -- probably more so than many of the attendees -- there is no doubt that we'll be seeing a fourth annual Mitsubishi Owners Day sometime in July of 2008. With the company's finances on the upswing as well, it's anybody's guess what they'll have in store.